Chubais Says IMF Deal Imminent;
Package May Total Up to $15 Billion

By

Matthew Brzezinski ,

Andrew Higgins and

John Bussey of

The Wall Street Journal .

Updated July 10, 1998 12:01 a.m. ET

MOSCOW -- After weeks of brinkmanship, Russia's top negotiator with the International Monetary Fund expects to reach an agreement this weekend on an emergency-aid package that the Kremlin said it needs to avoid a currency devaluation.

In an interview, Anatoly Chubais said he expects to reach a preliminary deal with the IMF by Saturday. An aide said that estimates pegging the total package at $10 billion to $15 billion were generally correct, and that the IMF portion would likely amount to about 40% of the final figure. Mr....